Vortex
by Ember411
Summary: An alternate date for Mal and Ben in the movie. With much more risks and questions to follow. Rated K . One-shot.


**So I read ahead of time before watching Disney _Descendents_ and when I read that Ben and Mal go on a date, in which Mal starts to drown at one point, I thought something like this that I'm about to write. But then I remember it's Disney so 1: They wouldn't make it too intense and 2: They probably couldn't make it too long of a scene or close to it. So, I wanted to write and share this.**

 **I changed the set up of this, such as making it a beach and not a lake or whatever, so it could work.**

 **I hope you enjoy it all my little hero's, princes, princess' and villains.**

* * *

So Ben told me that our little date was going to be a secret surprise. I've only been here for maybe a week or two and so far all surprises ended oddly. Usually a surprise back on The Island was someone actually trying to battle you back. That never happened so often.

Ben is sweet. I mean, he should be, since I did use a love potion on him so I could sit up front at his coronation and get Fairy Godmother's wand for mom. Once I got that than mom could be in control and be the ruler of the kingdom. Pure evil. I like that.

We arrived shortly later to what was the ocean that my friends and I crossed over at the beginning towards the kingdom. The Island was in view, but nothing but a teeny tiny dot like a freckle. It was hot too, very hot so the seasonal weather we're having now. When Ben turned his bike off he turned to me with that charming smile all princes are known to have.

"Here we are Mal," He said to me.

I looked around the scenery and saw nothing but white sand, an ocean, and some sort of picnic set up in the middle of the sand with a basket. "Where are we?" I asked him.

"The beach of course. The name is called The Enchanted Beach."

"Oh." I said. I looked around some more. "So this is what an enchanted beach looks like."

"You've never been to a beach before, Mal?" Ben asked me very confused.

"Not really. The shield around The Island cuts off at the beginning on the mud."

"Mud?"

"Do I need to explain all the darkness of The Island?"

"Nope, I guess not." He said as he got off the bike. Before I could take myself off the bike Ben held his hand out for me. I've never gotten that before, then again I never forced myself into something like this ever. But anything to get mom that wand.

Ben and I were on the grass. He told me to take my shoes off and socks too, if I had them on of course. I looked at him like 'Really?' and annoyed, but he said to trust him. I could of just said no and walk to that blanket myself but I felt something odd inside of me. Like something inside of me was saying 'Do it Mal. Do it.' and I found myself listening to it. I took my boots and socks off and put them next to the bike.

I took one step forward and felt instant hotness on the bottom of my pale bare feet. The last time I was ever barefooted was when I was a toddler and turned these boots mom got me into a pair of snakes. She was so proud of me that day. This dark white almost very, very light brown shaded stuff was not like concrete floors, like it was slanting and bumping up and down, and it was forming around my bare toes and sliding between my toes. It felt so soft and warm as I kept moving, with each step I liked it a lot. I felt like I was going to slip into the sand with the steps that I took with Ben. The sun was burning hot too. I felt like I was on fire and not the kind that Uncle Hades made once while ranting about his older half-brother's youngest son, Hercules, being such an amazing mortal to Greece. That burned badly, even I didn't like that. But the burning blazing sun right now was hot and warm. Maybe I would get that tan that Evie joked about earlier.

We reached the red and white checkered blanket that had large rocks holding it down as the wind began to pick up quickly. That made me feel a bit cooler from the blazing sun rays. There were a few plates sets up and two tall glasses next to a lemonade pitcher. Every was so bright and colorful.

I hate it all.

But soon enough I found myself sitting down on the blanket and having a glass of lemonade. I made Ben switch cups with me so that he had the foul, nauseating pink and I had the marvelous purple. I liked purple more. Something about the darkness of the color was exceedingly royal. I took a sip at the cup and felt bitterness and sweetness mixed into one liquid. Sour. Something I've experienced only a few times and, once again, something I badly hated.

"Not a fan of sourness?" Ben asked me.

"I don't usually drink sour, I am sour." I said with a smirk. "So this is what a beach is like?"

"Almost. Fairly more people come here but today is a bit hotter than most days here, so almost nobody is coming outside today."

Well alright then, I guess that's fine. I looked inside of the basket and saw some circular that had some sort of liquid gel squeezing out of it. What was it? I pulled from the basket the circular food and took a bite of it. A jelly flavor no doubt I noticed Ben gazing at me with his charming smile. "So is this your first time?"

"We don't really date much on the island. It's more like...gang activity." I answered him.

"No," He laughed. "I meant, is this your first time eating a jelly doughnut?"

"Is it bad?" I asked.

He chuckled as he leaned over with his thumb extended. "You got a..." I felt his thumb on my lips. "Just a...little...there." He said.

I, too, laughed. "Guess you can't take me anywhere."

"You know, I've done all the talking. You're turn Mal. I really don't know that much about you. Tell me something, anything." He said. He did acted very interested. No...not acting. He _was_ interested. Strange.

I sighed and blew out a quick breathe before talking to him. "Well I'm sixteen years old, I'm an only child. I've only ever lied in one place—"

"Me too." Ben chirped in. "That we have in common. Much in common already."

"No," I laughed. "Not that much in common. Trust me. And now you're gonna be king."

"Yeah." He said. But the way he said it made it depressing, almost doubtful.

"What?" I questioned.

"A crown doesn't make you a king, Mal." He told me.

"Well, it kind of does." I told him with a small laugh.

Ben laughed at me. "No, it... your mother is the mistress of evil and I've got the poster parents for goodness. But we're not automatically like them. We get to choose who we're going to be. And right now, I can tell you're not evil. I can see it."

He was smiling at me. It was a nice smile and... I liked it...What the hell was this feeling inside of me? Was that...the thing in the center of my chest? My heart? Why was it jumping and pumping so rapidly looking at him. I felt like he did like me as him with no spell casted on him. But I knew better. It was only the spell and not him. If only he did like me this way without the spell. Wait, what is this other feeling inside of me? Oh wait that's a familiar feeling. It that dark, hate and bad inside of me. That's usually always been there.

But how come two sides of my heart were fighting? Two emotions mixed together were fighting, like good verse evil were fighting. It was tearing me apart and I couldn't pick a side to choose from. Which side? If only I could tell which side to choose from.

"Let's go for a swim." He suggested.

"What?" I asked him.

"A swim." He said as he stood up. "Let's go for a swim."

"Right now?"

"Yeah, right now."

"I think... I think..." Find an excuse. "I think I'm just gonna stay here

"No, no, no, come on," He laughed as he grabbed my hand and tried to get me to get up and join him. "Come on, just swim in your clothes."

"No, I think I'm gonna stay behind and try a strawberry." I said as I picked one of them up. I've literally never tried a strawberry before." I said and took a bite...oh. Wow. This was so delicious. I took a few more and began biting into them. So delicious.

Ben laughed at me. "Don't eat all of them." And soon departed.

"Okay!" I called back without looking at him.

I took a few more bites before standing up and saw Ben climbing a small little cliff to dive into the water. Was he wearing what I thought he was wearing? "Are those little crowns on your shorts?"

"Maybe!" He laughed at me. He then jumped into the water.

Weirdo.

I turned back to the blanket and looked down at the food. I can't believe he did all of this for me...us. This was so sweet and charming, no pun intended. But I was on a mission for Mom. To get that wand for her. Do anything it took to get that wand...but I liked Ben a lot...No, wait...it's a strange feeling again. If only I could tell what my heart was telling me. Which path to choose from. The one I was meant to have or a new path or path?

* * *

I turned around after bursting out of the song, back to the bluest ocean, and didn't see Ben anywhere. Shouldn't he have emerged from the water by now? Unless he secretly was one of those half-human, half-dolphin creatures and I am a million percent sure he has none of that in his blood. I waited a few more seconds for him to emerged from any direction.

Nothing. I couldn't see him in the water, I panicked. Where was he? I began to call out his name with high worry in my voice. "Ben!? Ben!? BEN!?" But nothing happened.

I found myself running into the water to search for the prince. If something bad were to happen to him...

I began going deeper into the ocean and continued to cry out Ben's name hoping that he would give a response. But I still heard nothing and I felt more anxious than ever inside of me. Why? Why was I so anxious inside? I only felt like this recently when I talked to that statue of my mom and dreamed that she came to life and we sang together. But I was anxious about that because I didn't know if I could be as evil as her. Or maybe even more recent when I was singing on the beach mere moments ago.

I couldn't swim. I never took a swim lesson in my life. I just never cared to swim since the shield around the island blocked the beach, thus cutting off a reason to learn to swim. I think Jay can swim though and I don't even know how in the hell he did that with a shield blocking off the only source of swimming water. Then again, that water was muddy and mucky. Not like the water on this side.

I felt my energy becoming weak. I felt like my strength was slowing down and I needed to stand up to get rest. But that was when I realized how far deep I was into the ocean. My feet couldn't touch the ground, not even if I tried duck my head underwater and land on my bare feet. I was too short and the depth of the water was deep. I turned back to the beach, which was becoming a diminutive dot, and swam headfirst. But I wasn't moving. Why was I not moving?

I kept swimming forward, copying what I had saw Ben doing earlier. But unlike him I couldn't move towards the beach. If anything it was the complete opposite. I was moving further and further away from the beach. I kept pushing myself in the direction of the beach, catching my breathe every second as I grew weak. I hate being so weak. "Come on Mal, push harder! Push harder!" I told myself over and over, gasping for each breathe.

I couldn't get to the beach. It was becoming smaller and smaller. My entire body felt like it was shutting down. I felt like the waves were purposely pulling me to the middle of the ocean. Or it was like Evie's aunt Ursula's pulling me to her underwater castle. Either way I was being pulled away from the beach and into the unknown.

I felt some feeling inside of me. I wanted mom more than ever right now to save me of course, because she is my mom and adores me so much...at least I think she adores me as much as Ben's parents do to him. But I also wanted Ben to save me. Not because he was a prince and princes always grossly save the damsel in distress, like every mother in the kingdom, but because I felt like... I felt...warm? I felt warm inside? Light and fluffy inside...like the sun rays are shining down on me and making feel...glittery? No, wrong word. Sparkly? Ew, no...beautiful? Ben makes me feel...beautiful? Oh my nonexistence Godmother! He makes me feel...beautiful!? What the—

The next thing I knew I was completely under the water. I was twirling and whirling under the underwater at very high, rapid speeds. I held my breathe for as long as I could as I flapped my arms to get myself to the surface, but I could get to the damn surface. I just kept using all and any energy I had left inside of me to get to the surface. But I was losing it. I was losing all of it, I felt so disoriented that I didn't even know if I was swimming up to the surface anymore or even where I was going anymore.

I stopped for a brief second. Maybe this underwater twister would spit me out soon and I could try to swim up again. But I just felt so dizzy and I felt like I was being dragged down deeper and deeper to the bottom of the enchanted ocean. Where the hell are those half human and half fish people when you need them!?

I let go of my breath, I couldn't hold it any longer. Worse mistake I could of made. I shut my mouth but it was too late. I began to black out...things around me were going black and dark and I felt my mind weaken.

Oh my nonexistence Fairy Godmother... I'm dying. I was dying and there was nothing else I could do. Everyone would find my lifeless body just floating in the ocean. My friends, Evie and Jay and Carlos. What would happen to all of them? How would they react? What would they do? And Ben? He's still under that love spell and I don't know if he would still be in love with me. How could he? I would be dead! Mom. What about mom? Poor mom would be so heartbroken that her only daughter died. Who was she going to train to be pure evil now?

The black was forming around me quicker. I was dying. Goodbye you cruel, evil, dark and colorful and...beautiful world.

I shut my eyes, ready to go wherever my evil heart guides me. The last thing I felt was something grasping my hand.

* * *

I still felt dizzy and disoriented when I came back to it. Whatever "it" was to be correct. Things were all fuzzy and blurry too...and bright. There was a bright sky above me. I felt hot again but still wet too. And cold. Freezing cold. And...pressure on me. There was some sort of pressure on my chest being pushed down...hard too.

 _"Mal! Come on Mal!"_ I heard a voice yell out to me and then some more pressure. _"Stay with me Mal. Stay with me!"_ The voice said again. I recognize that voice as someone I knew too well.

Ben.

 _"Come on Mal,"_ Ben said again as he pushed harder on my chest. _"Stay here with me, Mal."_

Where the hell was I anyways?

I felt my mind come back together. My thoughts were organized again and slowly I fluttered my eyes open. The scenery around me was still a giant blob and blurred lines but a face was appearing. Those eyes...that brown hair...that smile.

Ben.

"Ben?" I said as best as I could. My throat felt so faint and fatigue. I felt his hand on my forehead for a brief second before he brushed it up and back to where the rest of my hair was. "Be—"

"Shhs, it's okay." He whispered softly to me. "You're going to be okay now."

I didn't obey him. "What...happ?" That was all I could get out before coughing.

"You got caught in a rip currant." Ben answered. A rip currant? "And then a whirlpool vortex pulled you under the water. I could see you struggling from the beach."

This all sounded like someone asking for death. How was I suppose to know what a rip currant was? How was I suppose to know what a vortex is? How was I suppose to know this stuff when there was a freaking shield blocking the beach from us and preventing us to learn all of that stuff!? Fair Godmother I wanted to scream at him and tell him all that, but I couldn't. I was so tired just from trying to get back to the land.

"Are you okay now, Mal?" Ben asked me again in a soft voice.

The best I could respond too was a simple nod. Ben made a small laughing sound and I shot a hot glare at him. Why was he laughing at a time like this!? I nearly died because of him!

"I'm sorry to be laughing, but... I thought you might have been joking earlier when you said that thing about the shield blocking you from the beach on the island."

"Why...joke!?" I chocked out, still trying to get my breathing back to rhythm. "I can't...swim!"

"And yet you still tried to save me." He pointed out.

I coughed a few more times and spat water out of me. Gross. Filthy clean water. I glared back at him and spoke a bit loudly now. "Yeah! And do you thank me!? NO! All I get is soaking wet and a bigger fear of going into the water again due to nearly dying in some underwater tornado thing!"

Ben looked at me for a brief second before pulling up from the ground some sparkly, bright crystal rock that was usually found in the ocean only. "And, uh, this fancy rock. It's yours." He handed it to me. "Make a wish and throw it back in the ocean."

I sighed angrily and and took the rock, held it for a second, before throwing over me back into the ocean. I heard the thing clank to the ocean floor. Ben kept staring at me though and looked confused.

"What?" I asked looking up at him. I began shivering a second later, stupid cold. Ben streched over to the side and grabbed his jacket and placed it over me like a blanket. "What?" I asked again.

"Mal," He said a bit louder than he had been for the past few minutes. "I told you that I loved you. What about you?" I gawked at him confused. "Do you love me?"

Did I love him? Come on Mal, listen to your heart. What was it telling you? What was it telling me? Could I love him or was this all just acting to get the wand for Mom? What could my heart tell me? Which path should I choose?

Finally I answered. "I don't know what love feels like."

Ben gazed at me for a few seconds, wondering if I was telling the truth. Then he simply grinned at me. "Maybe I can teach you."

Teach me love? Was that even— "Achoo!" I sneezed loudly.

"Bless you." Ben said as he stood up. A second later I felt him scoop me up in stereotypical bride style that I've heard about in the past. "Let's get you back to your room before you catch a cold."

* * *

Ben was very nice to carry me back, put my boots back on, and drive us back to the dorm. Ben offered to carry me to my room, but I declined and opted to walk back to my room. Ben didn't let me walk alone back to the room, he walked next to me and kept company. Once we got back to the door I found myself facing him.

"Goodnight Mal." He smiled at me. "Sweet dreams."

"Um...thanks." I said as I held the door knob. "Later Ben." I smiled back at him.

I opened the door quickly, ran in, and then shut the door behind me. Oh nonexistence Fairy Godmother, my heart was pounding again. I looked up and saw Evie smiling at me, as well as two visitors—Jay and Carlos. Evie was grinning at me with excitement while the boys looked on curious. Actually looking at Jay now I just remembered that he didn't know how to swim properly. It was bathtub swimming he did, which was only moving on his butt back and forth in the tub.

"So?" Evie asked. "How did it go?" I must of dried up on the ride home, Evie should of flipped by now.

"Guys," They all looked at me. "We've gotta learn how to swim."

Later that night I looked out my window to the sky. It was black with sparkling starts and a full white moon. Funny how back on the Island I would never find the sky amusing. But now I find it both amusing and beautiful. And I couldn't stop thinking of Ben. Today was very different. Today could of been different if Ben didn't save me from that death. Wait, it just hit me. I was in a death zone with that rip currant and that underwater vortex. The high, red danger zone death zone. And Ben put himself there. He risked his life for me. Wow, did that spell really work on him or what! But now there was a real serious question.

Did I really love him?

* * *

 **I hoped you all liked this! :)**


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